Thread: tax refund delays ?

IRS warns of tax refund delays
By Jeanne Sahadi @CNNMoney January 13, 2015: 9:09 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) : The IRS normally issues taxpayer refunds quickly. But this year, some filers are going to have to wait.

Due to budget cuts, people who file paper tax returns could wait an extra week for their refund — "or possibly longer," wrote IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in a memo to employees Tuesday. And filers with errors or questions that require additional review will also face delays.

Last month, Congress approved a $10.9 billion budget for the IRS for fiscal year 2015, which ends in June. That's the lowest level of funding since 2008, Koskinen said.

Koskinen said the budget cuts would result in several other changes at the agency, including:

Fewer audits. Due to cuts in enforcement staff, collection efforts for individuals and businesses will be reduced.

Hiring freeze. The freeze, plus normal attrition rates, will result in 3,000 to 4,000 fewer full-time employees at the agency by the end of June. Including the headcount losses incurred since 2010, that means the agency's full-time staff will be reduced by as many as 17,000 employees over the course of five years.

Less taxpayer help. Cuts in overtime and temporary staff hours will not only delay refunds, but hurt correspondence with taxpayers as well. Koskinen said it's likely that fewer than half the taxpayers that call the agency will be able to get through.

A possible two-day shutdown after tax season. To minimize disruptions, Koskinen said a temporary shutdown, if needed, would likely occur closer to June. But, he added, the agency will do what it can to avoid this option, which he called a "last resort."

Delays in IT investments. Among the delays, will be technologies that offer new taxpayer protections against identity theft.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/13/pf/t...html?iid=HP_LN





IRS Warns Of Slower Tax Refunds, More Identity Theft Risk
Jan 13, 2015, 4:59 PM ET - By JONATHAN KARL ABC News

Coming soon from the IRS: Slower tax refunds, fewer identity-theft protections and worse customer service.

That’s the word in an alarming email obtained by ABC News and sent to IRS employees today by IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

The only possible silver lining (especially for tax cheats): fewer audits. To be specific: 46,000 fewer audits this year and 1,800 fewer IRS enforcement officers.

That’s because the IRS budget has been slashed so deeply – the lowest inflation-adjusted budget in nearly two decades -- that Koskinen says “we have no choice but to do less with less.”

The Commissioner writes that the budget cuts will mean a slower and less helpful IRS.

“We now anticipate an even lower level of telephone service than before,” Koskinen writes, “which raises the real possibility that fewer than half of taxpayers trying to call us will actually reach us.”

Refund checks will be delayed by a week or longer and planned new identity-theft protections will be delayed.

Spending less on the IRS’s budget will actually cost taxpayers more money. Koskinen says the enforcement cut-back will cost the Treasury some $2 billion in lost tax revenue.

Here’s the Commissioners email: https://www.scribd.com/doc/252545421...oskinen-Letter

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/irs-w...ry?id=28202174

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IRS chief warns of refund delays, poor customer service this tax year
Published January 14, 2015 ·FoxNews.com



"People who file paper tax returns could wait an extra week -- or possibly longer -- to see their refund," he wrote, adding: "Taxpayers with errors or questions on their returns that require additional manual review will also face delays."

He warned that IRS customer service, which already has faced heavy criticism, could be "diminished further." Koskinen set a low bar for what taxpayers can expect.

"We now anticipate an even lower level of telephone service than before, which raises the real possibility that fewer than half of taxpayers trying to call us will actually reach us. During Fiscal Year 2014, 64 percent were able to get through. Those who do reach us will face extended wait times that are unacceptable to all of us," Koskinen wrote.

Further, he warned of delays to IT investments of more than $200 million, predicting this would delay "new taxpayer protections against identity theft."

The IRS has faced tough congressional scrutiny over the last two years in large part over the scandal involving the targeting of conservative groups, and some lawmakers are reluctant to pour more funding into the agency.

But Koskinen says the agency's $10.9 billion budget is now the lowest level of funding since 2008. When adjusted for inflation, the budget hasn't been this low since 1998, he said.

He said a short-term shutdown may loom.

"Unfortunately, this means at this time we need to plan for the possibility of a shutdown of IRS operations for two days later this fiscal year, which will involve furloughing employees on those days," Koskinen wrote in the email. "Shutting down the IRS will be a last resort, but I want to be upfront with you about the problem."

Koskinen said the agency will extend a partial hiring freeze through the end of the budget year in September. He said fewer enforcement agents will cost the federal government at least $2 billion in lost tax revenue.

"IRS employees are doing their best to handle the rising demand for their services, but they will simply not be able to keep up," said Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union. "I have urged the IRS not to make any decisions on furlough days this early in the fiscal year and to work with us to find other alternatives."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...this-tax-year/

5 things to know about tax filing and Obama's health law
January 15, 2015 2:41 AM CST - By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER - Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The IRS is cutting taxpayer services just as President Barack Obama's health law is making filing a tax return more complicated. The agency blames budget cuts enacted by Congress. An IRS watchdog says service problems at the tax agency will make complying with the law harder for well-intentioned taxpayers.

"Without adequate support, many taxpayers will be frustrated, some will make potentially costly mistakes, others will incur higher compliance costs when forced to seek information and assistance from tax professionals," said Nina E. Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent office within the IRS.

"Still others," Olson said, "will simply give up and not file."

Olson released her annual report to Congress Wednesday, less than a week before the start of tax filing season on Tuesday.

Five things to know about the tax filing season:

WHY IS IT GETTING HARDER TO FILE A TAX RETURN?

For the first time, tax filers will have to report information about their health insurance during the previous year. For most people who get health coverage through work or through government programs like Medicaid, it will mean simply checking a box.

Others who got insurance through state and federal marketplaces will have to file a new form, while people who received subsidies will have to provide more detailed information.

People who didn't have health insurance last year face fines unless they qualify for a waiver, which requires more paperwork.

The subsidies were based on projected incomes, so families will need to report if actual incomes were higher or lower. If higher, they might have to pay back some of the subsidy, either through a smaller tax refund or a payment.

If their incomes were lower, they might qualify for a larger tax refund.

WHY CAN'T THE IRS ANSWER MY QUESTIONS WHEN I CALL?

The tax agency says only half of the 100 million people expected to call this year will be able to reach a person.

Callers who do get through may have to wait on hold for 30 minutes or more to talk to someone who will answer only the simplest questions.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen says budget cuts are forcing the agency to reduce taxpayer services and other functions.

Congress cut the IRS by $346 million for the budget year that ends Sept. 30. Koskinen says the agency's $10.9 billion budget is its lowest since 2008. When adjusted for inflation, the budget hasn't been this low since 1998, he said.

WHY DID CONGRESS CUT THE IRS BUDGET? :'(

Republicans in Congress adamantly oppose Obama's health law, so some have been working to starve the IRS of funds just as its role in implementing the law ramps up.

It won't work, Koskinen said in an interview. The agency, he said, is required by law to help implement the health program. "The only places we have discretion are in information technology, tax enforcement, customer service."

WHERE CAN I GET HELP FILING MY TAX RETURN?

The IRS wants you to visit its website. The agency has devoted a section to answering questions about the health law: www.irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act/ .

The IRS website includes videos, tax tips and frequently asked questions about the health law.

Koskinen's advice to taxpayers with questions: Don't call the IRS unless you absolutely have to.

More than half of all filers pay someone to prepare their returns. Private tax preparers, such as H&R Block, also have websites with information about the health law.

WILL IRS BUDGET CUTS REDUCE MY CHANCE OF GETTING AUDITED?

Yes. Last year, the IRS had fewer agents auditing returns than at any time since at least the 1980s. This year the number of agents will be cut again - by about 1,800 agents, Koskinen said.

That will result in at least 46,000 fewer audits of individuals and businesses this year. Less than 1 percent of individuals will have their tax returns audited.

Budget cuts, however, come with a cost: Having fewer enforcement agents will cost the federal government at least $2 billion in lost tax revenue this year, Koskinen estimated.

http://www.wafb.com/story/27855225/5...mobilecgbypass


This article isn't biased ... at all ...

...


The ltr. I received from the IRS was a scare tactic- planned and executed by Koskinen in an attempt to frighten tax payers into contacting their representatives to give the IRS more money to "protect" us citizens from ID theft.

What a POS! It's all politics. I heard yesterday that the FED Government has 300K employees who have not paid their taxes- to the tune of $3.3B+ of owed taxes, just from them.

But they do, apparently, have the money and the nerve to send out letters to average Americans who have never been late, or failed to pay their taxes, in an attempt to coerce them (by fear) into extorting more money for their little fiefdom from Congress.


Screw them! Do your job IRS, and stop targeting Americans who have never done anything wrong to do your dirty work. The IRS makes me sick!